Welcoming Labour MP Peter Hain’s conversion to a whole raft of Plaid Cymru policy in recent weeks, Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams MP has challenged him to support a Plaid Cymru amendment to reverse Welsh Assembly election rules written by Mr Hain in 2006.
In the Government of Wales Act, Labour introduced a new rule, opposed by all other parties, so that Welsh Assembly candidates could not stand for both a constituency seat and on the regional list.
The decision not to allow candidates to stand for both was originally slammed by Plaid as party politically motivated move by Labour. The rule does not apply for the elections to the Scottish Parliament.
Plaid Cymru MPs have tabled an amendment* to this effect in the upcoming Parliamentary Voting and Constituencies Bill.
Mr Williams said:
“Peter Hain has been the subject of an exceptional conversion in recent weeks – taking up Plaid Cymru policy on a referendum for further powers, the need to end the unfair Barnett Formula and fighting against funding cuts to S4/C.
“Here is another issue which we think he should be reconsidering – his decision as Secretary of State for Wales to prevent Welsh Assembly candidates from standing for both a constituency and regional list.
“This was a decision made on the basis of very little evidence and was a clearly from a partisan party political perspective, which would more often than not benefit the Labour Party.
“Forty of the Welsh Assembly seats are elected by first past the post rules with a further twenty elected by means of a regional top-up system to make the end result more proportional than it otherwise would be.
“While Labour win almost all of their seats in the Welsh Assembly through the first past the post system, the remaining parties have to choose between placing their strongest candidates in constituencies where they may or not win or on the list where they are perhaps more likely to be elected.
“The intended effect from Labour was that the other parties would put their strongest candidates on the list, giving an easier ride to Labour candidates to win the constituency.
“It was very clearly a measure designed to help Labour, not Welsh democracy – the Scottish Parliament elections incidentally do not have this stupid rule.
“There was no all-party consensus when he introduced these unfair measures in Wales in 2006 – but if he genuinely believes that democracy should be fair, open and not party political – then he should come out in favour of a change in those rules.”
